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Nottingham-based Garbolino star lands 64lb 4oz sturgeon – thought to be the biggest ever UK freshwater fish caught on a pole!

Forced on to Lindholme Lakes owner Neil Grantham’s private, previously unfished, garden lake due to the Garbolino Club Angler Of The Year taking up the rest of the complex, the Garbolino and Bait-Tech backed angler Jason Le Bosquet got the shock of his life while shooting a feature for Match Fishing Magazine.

Geared up to demonstrate his prowess at fishing short, Jason was targeting carp and F1s on a short pole when both Jason and Match Fishing’s own Joe Carass spotted a huge tail come out of the water right over the bait!

Jason said “Neil had told me that there were four sturgeon in the lake up to 64lb but to be honest we were happily shooting a feature catching carp when the beast’s tail broke the surface. Before I knew what was really going on, the fish was hooked and the epic battle ensued.”

“Early in the fight the fish was incredibly agile and leapt out of the water several times and it became clear I was hooked into a massive fish. I was using 0.20mm Garbo Line to an 0.18mm hooklength and size 14 Gama Power hook, so although I was geared up for carp, I never expected to stand a chance against the huge fish I had clearly hooked.”

“Funnily enough, I don’t carry a net capable of landing a 6ft sturgeon and after a few minutes we had a chance to land the fish. Sadly we didn’t have a net big enough so a quick call to Darren Cox and Alex Bones and something more suitable was brought from the Lindholme tackle shop.”

An unbelievable battle soon commenced and Jason was left hanging on as the colossal fish used its weight to slowly move further and further away. By following the fish out to the full 16 metres of his Garbolino Power Legion pole, it was to become a war of attrition as every time Jason made some ground on the beast, a simple flick of the tail saw it some 20 metres away!

“Luckily I had relatively soft, yet strong 10-12 Bazookarp elastic which allowed the fish to run without breaking the rig.”

After an hour of arm aching action, the fish was finally beaten and it was left to Neil and Joe to land the fish, which involved sliding the creature down into a spare keepnet.

The Sturgeon which was now safely netted was allowed to rest and recover in the margins while the necessary equipment was readied for the photography of the magnificent specimen.

Weighed by Neil Grantham the sturgeon topped the scales at an unbelievable 64lb 4oz! A fish which we believe to be a new world record fish to be caught on a pole. Match Fishing’s Joe Carass was confident the fish beat the previous best “I did some digging straight away and as far as I can see the previous best is an impressive grass carp caught by English angler Alan Hayes which was an incredible 56lb. So I think we can safely say Jason is a record holder!”

The shell shocked Jason was clearly amazed by his capture “What an incredible hour of angling and something I don’t think will be repeated. It just goes to show what can be landed on balanced tackle and I am just over the moon to land the fish.”

Fortunately, several onlookers were on hand to film the action. The clips of which will be available to view over the next few days.

For more information on the amazing Power Legion pole that helped bank the prehistoric beast, visit www.garbolinouk.co.uk